Over the first three days of the September school holidays, 20 of our Year 11 students participated in our Camp Heide program. This program aims to offer a fun school holiday program, run and organised by OLMC students for the children from the Exodus Community in West Heidelberg. Here is one student’s reflections on the experience:
My experience at Camp Heide this year was wonderful.
We got to organise and plan a three-day, fun filled program for vulnerable children from our local community.
We spent weeks planning activities such as a wildlife visit, tote-bag making and portrait painting for the kids to participate in. It was great because we got to join them in doing so and made new bonds with each other and the children who came to the camp. A fan favourite from the camp was seeing everyone interact with the reptiles from the wildlife visit, in both the “OMG! I love that snake” way or even the “OMG! Get that snake away from me, please!” type of way. It was also really rewarding seeing all the kids draw their camp buddies on their tote bags or painting them on their canvases. It was a great experience because we got to develop these wonderful connections but also because we were in charge of planning the camp and handling these responsibilities was a very beneficial experience for all of us.
I loved being able to see my friends for a few days but still feeling like I was doing my part in helping the community and making what might have been those kids’ favourite part of the holidays.
Tiara L. Year 11 (MFTA)